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Governor Ratcliffe
Governor John Ratcliffe is a major antagonist in the Kingdom Hearts Unlimited Saga, and a member of the Order of the White Rose, first appearing in "The Journey" in a cameo role before making his full debut in "An Empire of Dreams". He is a seemingly loyal ally to Judge Claude Frollo, but does not share his religious extremism. Rather, the only thing that he seems to care about is gold, which he believes that if he acquires enough, he will become extremely wealthy, which will possibly place him on the same social status as his ally. However, the other members of the White Rose Order don't share in his avaricious optimism and just refer to him as "a pathetic social climber", even though he has much in the Order's hierarchy as General of the Templar Armada. Story Before Birth of A New Era Born in Lancashire to a minor noble family, John Ratcliffe was not expected by his peers to have much influence over how England was run. That all changed with the Gunpowder Plot. One day, Ratcliffe came to King James I with a letter that had been brought to his notice by a baron. The anonymous letter instructed the baron not to attend the State Opening of Parliament, saying that a great disaster would strike the House of Lords. On the king's orders, the House was searched from top to bottom, and a man named Guy Fawkes was discovered in the basement guarding enough barrels of gunpowder to blow up the building. Fawkes was arrested and Ratcliffe personally tortured him, extracting a confession of a Catholic plot to kill the king and parliament and install a more hardline regime. The other conspirators were arrested and all were hanged for high treason. For his role in uncovering the plot, Ratcliffe was awarded with a more prestigious position in the king's court. What the king didn't know was that Ratcliffe had engineered the whole plot. In the guise of "John Sicklemore," Ratcliffe had approached the conspirators and suggested the attempted assassination. The letter warning the baron had in fact been penned by Ratcliffe. He had even gone so far as to wait until the very last moment to bring it to the king's attention so that His Majesty would appreciate the danger he was in. All of the conspirators who had met Ratcliffe in person he instructed to commit suicide before they were captured, which they did unquestioningly, preferring to die rather than live with their failure. Between BoANE and The Journey Though Ratcliffe was born Catholic and his family had been persecuted for their beliefs under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Ratcliffe didn't personally care for religion. He believed in enjoying the spoils of this life rather than troubling himself worrying about the next. After his promotion, he treated himself to the finest food, clothing, and jewelry that he could get his hands on. Hearing about the riches Spain was getting out of the New World, Ratcliffe made up his mind to get a piece of the action. Rather than follow Spain into Mexico or South America, Ratcliffe believed the best place to win his fortune would be the relatively unexplored north. Founding the Virginia Company (ironically named after the "Virgin Queen" Elizabeth, who had caused his family so much trouble), Ratcliffe approached King James and convinced him to sponsor an expedition in the interests of gaining a foothold in the New World before the Spanish could claim it all. In order to get the colonists desperate enough to be willing to do anything to defend their colony, Ratcliffe deliberately loaded the ships with barely enough food to get them to the New World (Ratcliffe, of course, made sure to secret away extra supplies for himself). He also weeded out and dismissed those who might inspire too popular of a following with the other colonists, save for the swashbuckler John Smith, whose influence rivaled that of his own. Finally, Ratcliffe sailed to a port off the coast of France, which held a secret portal to the world of La Cité des Cloches and its version of France, and negotiated with the lord high minister of Paris Claude Frollo to secure more support for the expedition, leveraging his family history as honest Catholics who had been oppressed by the Protestants to gain Frollo's sympathies. Though a bit hesitant at first, Frollo bought Ratcliffe's story, accepting him into his inner circle of the Order of the White Rose. At last, Ratcliffe was ready to lay claim to the riches of the New World. The Journey (A cameo role with the other White Rose Order members to discuss the threat of the Hellfire Organization and the Horned King upon the worlds) Between The Journey and An Empire of Dreams (What led to the Jamestown expedition, and his secret deal made with both Pete and Dominion XIII) An Empire of Dreams (Reprises role from "Pocahontas", with assistance from Darth Maul and the resurrected Savage Opress, then assists other White Rose Order members in battling Dominion XIII in final battle) The Fantasmic Dreamtime (His alliance with Order of the White Rose broken after the events of the Hunchback of Notre Dame; only to betray Frollo and side with Jafar's conspiracy when it seems that the old judge has gone mad with hatred and lust) Return of the Keyblade (Reprises role from "Pocahontas Journey to the New World" with mention of cutting ties with White Rose Order and instead allying with Queen Nehelenia's Hellfire Organization, then is bailed from prison by Hades) Appearance Obese, long black hair tied up in 2 short pigtails with red ribbons, briefly mustachioed at the bottom of his mouth, thick black eyebrows, lavender eyelids. (in his traditional wear): Rose long-sleeved shirt with a long V-cut neckline, crimson coat with both lavender collar and cuffs, black linings on his both front vertical edges and waistline, and slits at the bottom of it, crimson keen-length pants, blue medallion with a gold center topping it all off, lavender calf-high socks, black colonial boots, red cape, crimson colonial hat with a blue feather on its black band. In his imagination and at the King's ball, he wore a golden version of his uniform with a red medallion. (in his battle uniform): Black iron battle armor suit with gray trimmings. Personality Like most villains, Ratcliffe is very power-hungry, and greedy as well. He is highly xenophobic (even for the period in which he lives), ruthless, and deceptive. While he exudes great confidence and even vanity, Ratcliffe seems to take a rather dim view of himself, admitting in a rather sad tone of voice that he has never been a popular man. His fellow members of the court consider him a "pathetic social climber". His mission to colonize the Native Americans is his last chance to make a name for himself. Despite his self-confessed lack of popularity, Ratcliffe seems quite charismatic and commands the respect of his followers until the last minute. Ratcliffe's lack of self-esteem stands in contrast to the egomania of most villains; but Ratcliffe nevertheless refuses to find fault in himself, let alone admit defeat. He does get flustered at times, but is easily calmed. In "Return of the Keyblade", he flirts with Pocahontas at the ball, mocking her about John's death with a sarcastic edge. Ratcliffe is also somewhat lazy: known to lie around eating while his men dig for gold, and remain dry in his tent while even his immediate subordinates work in the rain. Abilities Boss Strategy Boss Music: Vim and Vigor (1st Battle), The 13th Dilemma (2nd Battle) Category:Villains Category:The Hellfire Organization Category:Order of the White Rose Category:Nobility Category:Mastermind Category:Soldiers Category:Darkness Users Category:Gunslingers Category:Government Officials